


Perception, Interpretation, and Execution

by CharWright5



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Alternate Universe - Idols, Angst, Background Established Bokuto/ Akaashi, Background Sakusa/ Atsumu, Black Jackals Four as a boy band, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Misunderstandings, Natsu as a Black Jackals fangirl, Pining, Social Media, angst with happy ending, fandom drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25108486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharWright5/pseuds/CharWright5
Summary: A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the words are wrong.In which Bokuto posts a selfie to his twitter that sends the Black Jackals boy band fandom into a frenzy and breaks Shoyo's heart in the process.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 33
Kudos: 391
Collections: MSBY Exchange





	Perception, Interpretation, and Execution

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iamanidhwal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamanidhwal/gifts).



> For the MSBY Exchange.
> 
> I tweaked one of the prompts the giftee listed (which I hope you don't mind) because I'm in an Idol mood and the prompt about a "compromising" selfie accidentally being tweeted and causing a fandom ruckus was too good. Hope you enjoy it!

_”Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation, and execution.”_

~ Ansel Adams

~*~*~*~*~*~

Picking up his phone for the fifth time in the last two minutes, Shoyo let loose another sigh. It wasn't like his sister not to reply to his texts immediately, especially when she knew he and his band mates were currently in the studio. A Black Jackals stan first and Shoyo's sister second--her words--she was always hounding him for any news, sneak peeks, the first to hear about anything. She'd go to him immediately when she heard any gossip online--under the pseudo-fake name "Nacchan", of course, so no one would use her to get close to the band--and whenever he reached out, she'd instantly jump him for details about everything.

Only now…

Unlocking his phone revealed the text thread he shared with her. Yep, his text had been delivered. And read. An hour ago.

Still no word though.

He was starting to get a little worried in all honesty. He always believed it would take a force of nature to stop her from getting any juicy info from him and the fact that she wasn't using this opportunity to do just that…

His phone dinged and his heart leapt in his chest.

Peering down, he saw a text notification, thankfully from Natsu, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. His mind had seriously been running away from him, leading him down all sorts of crazy roads and making him think some seriously messed up stuff. Thankfully none of it was real, had just been his imagination. Everything was alright.

Unlocking his phone once more, Shoyo finally took the time to actually _read_ the message, taking in his sister’s words.

‘ _ **> >>** Sorry, Nii-chan. There was a massive meltdown in the SakuAtsu fandom and I did NOT wanna miss any of that drama._’

A frown formed on his face, lips twisting in a confused pout. He knew all about the fandom goings on thanks to her, was well aware of shipping and what it was and who was paired with who. Meaning, he knew that “SakuAtsu” was referring to two of his groupmates, Sakusa and Atsumu, and the way fans imagined the two of them in an _actual_ romantic relationship.

He didn’t want the details beyond that, in all honesty. Yeah, sure, he knew there were fanfics, stories fictionalizing a relationship there--and not just between those two, but all sorts of combinations between the four of them in the group--and there was art drawn and edits made to where they looked like they were kissing or cuddling or… _more_.

Shoyo would be lying if he said he didn’t get curious and spend a couple late nights googling some of this shipping stuff between himself and a certain groupmate, but that was between him and his incognito tab.

Still, the point remained that while he was aware of what “ _the SakuAtsu fandom_ ” meant, he just had no clue why there’d be a meltdown. Most of the group had been on lockdown within the house thanks to writing sessions and vocal practices and recording. Shoyo didn’t think there was anything that could’ve happened or that they could’ve done to warrant such a reaction within the fandom.

Then again, he’d been wrong before.

‘ _ **< <<** What happened?_’

The bouncing bubbles popped up immediately, teenage fingers flying over Natsu’s keyboard as she rapidly replied.

‘ _ **> >>** Wait. Do you seriously not know?_’  
‘ _ **> >>** You need to pay more attention to your social media, Nii-chan_’

Shoyo glared at his phone as though she could see his disapproving frown. He paid plenty attention to it. He just tended not to get caught up in fandom drama or else he’d spend all his time being too paranoid and afraid to do anything for fear it would lead to… well, to a massive meltdown, for lack of better words. Not to mention the fact that he’d been busy.

Which was what he was trying to type out when Natsu replied once more, this time with a link to a tweet sent by Bokuto, the fourth member of their group.

Wha--

What did Bokuto have to do with Sakusa or Atsumu or SakuAtsu?

His confused frown deepened as he clicked the link, the tweet opening in his app. He saw the familiar icon of his groupmate, the man mid-jump on stage, back arched and hand held back like he was about to spike a volleyball. Shoyo often imagined that there was an alternate universe out there where Bokuto chose to go pro with volleyball rather than become an idol and that he was an ace on a huge team somewhere.

But that was a train of thought he’d have to catch another day. For now, he was reading the tweet itself, the caption innocent and innocuous.

‘ _Another day, another recording sesh!_ ’

Below it was a selfie the man had taken, tongue sticking out and right eye closed in a wink. The hand not holding his phone was in the familiar Jackal signal that they and the fandom adopted, middle and ring finger touching the thumb, index and pinky held up, making a jackal type image. Seemed harmless enough really. Honestly, Shoyo figured all the hoopla would be aimed at Bokuto being shirtless, but considering his propensity for taking his shirt off, maybe that had become old news.

Then again, Bokuto Babes--as they called themselves--still lost their minds when a new pic of him half naked popped up. Surely the “massive meltdown” should’ve been aimed at that and not at…

 _Oh_.

Shoyo’s eyes finally caught it.

And he immediately regretted it.

Because in the background of the picture was… was the true source of the meltdown.

Shoyo turned his phone away as though he could magically forget about the image, but it was seared into his brain like a permanent brand. Atsumu, grabbing hold of Sakusa’s face, pulling his mask down… and kissing him.

And not just a friendly kiss on the cheek as he was prone to do with his fellow group members on stage. Not on the forehead like he sometimes did with Shoyo. No, this… this was a full on, planting a hard one on the lips kiss. This wasn’t a friends kiss. This wasn’t a groupmates kiss. This was _more_.

His heart sank to his stomach and he felt like puking. It wasn’t that he had an issue with men kissing. Bokuto was practically engaged to his high school sweetheart Akaashi, another man. Shoyo himself had a major, near debilitating crush on a guy, had dated a guy in the past. No, his problem was the fact that the object of said major, near debilitating crush… was kissing someone else.

Tears filled his eyes, making his vision go wavy and his throat feel thick. His skin prickled uncomfortably and his chest felt way too tight. He’d really thought… he’d really thought maybe… there was something between himself and Atsumu. There’d been a lot of flirtation between them, even before they’d left their original groups and joined the newly forming Black Jackals, and… okay, yeah, Atsumu was known to act a little playfully flirty with the crowd, winking and throwing heart-hands and whatever, but even Atsumu himself had admitted it was an act, had been told by their managers to behave that way since his time being half of The Miya Twins. But with Shoyo it had felt… it had felt more serious.

Or maybe… it had just been his crush making him think that way, making him believe it wasn’t one sided.

He felt like an idiot.

His eyes stung and he sank down onto his bed, putting his phone aside in favor of digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. Man, how dumb could he be? He wasn’t special, he had simply fallen for the same act Atsumu put on for the fans. When in reality, the affections Shoyo had believed to be aimed his way… were actually for Sakusa.

_Fuck._

His phone buzzed and he debated picking it up. He really didn’t wanna talk to anyone. He felt fragile. But he knew if he didn’t answer that someone would ask what was wrong and… and he really didn’t wanna admit that he wasn’t okay, much less the reasons why. Yeah, his groupmates knew he wasn’t straight but none of them knew he’d been pining for one of them. Not even his gossipy sister knew and she could suss anything out.

Meaning… she’d figure out on her own that something was wrong if he didn’t reply. Assuming it was her texting.

Picking his phone back up and flipping it over, he saw that… yeah, it was her and he tapped the notif to open it up. That tweet link stared at him, bright and mocking, and he swiped to delete just that message in particular before reading the next one Natsu had sent.

‘ _ **> >>** I’m sorry, Nii-chan. I know how much you like Atsumu-san._’

Shoyo’s eyes popped out of his head and he began sputtering. How the hell--?

Man, she was smarter than he gave her credit for. And while his initial reaction was to deny and argue and call her crazy… he knew there was no point. Natsu would never judge him for it, had known he’d dated Kageyama and had approved. She’d been nothing but supportive and even stood by his side as he came out to his parents. And he knew she would never leak anything or spill, not even to her best friend, not even to their parents. She was trustworthy and reliable like that.

So instead, he sighed softly then sniffed, a weak smile on his face as he typed.

‘ _ **< <<** How’d you figure it out?_’

He wanted to lock his phone then lock it in the drawer, to not be confronted with evidence, but… but he needed to know. He was gonna have to change his behavior to better hide his feelings, especially since… especially since it appeared as though Atsumu and Sakusa were now an item. He was gonna have to be the good, supportive bandmate, have their back, be happy for them. If they went public with it, he was gonna have to be public in his support, too, and that meant hiding his hurt.

Oh god, he was gonna have to hide his hurt around those three anyway.

The bouncing dots seemed to take forever, but when they finally stopped and Natsu’s message finally came through, Shoyo inhaled sharply to take it all in.

‘ _ **> >>** You talk about him a lot, and in a totally different way. Like, you’re awed by Sakusa-san’s dancing and you mention how much you look up to and admire Bokuto-san’s energy and his skills, but with Atsumu-san… it’s a whole different level. You talk about literally everything about him. It’s hard to describe, but it’s just the WAY you talk about him, too, even if it’s about how bad he is at cooking or how he spent the day pouting after struggling to nail a new dance routine. I swear I know more about him than the other Jackals by a landslide at this point and it’s all because of you._’

Oh.

Okay, so yeah, Shoyo talked about Atsumu a lot, but… he didn’t think it was _that_ much. Was it?

He thought he was more self-aware than that, but apparently not. He was gonna have to work really hard to cover up his crush from that point on.

Another big message popped up and he realized that he hadn’t even noticed the bouncing dots that time.

‘ _ **> >>** And from a fan point of view… you post a lot of pics with him, probably more than the others, which the AtsuHina fandom LOVES. And you always seem to be looking at him more than the others and you have this like soft look on your face and in your eyes and it… don’t be mad at me for saying this or get sadder than you already are… but like it seemed as though he looked back at you in a similar way ?? This sort of quiet awe and this soft smile that he never shows anyone ?? Honestly I was waiting for you to finally admit you were dating him because you look at him with more sparkles and hearts in your eyes than you ever did Kageyama._’

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

He’d been way too obvious.

He curled over his knees where he was sitting on the edge of his bed, suppressing the need to scream in case he alerted the other Jackals in the house over his own personal meltdown. God, if Natsu had picked it up from two hours away back home in Sendai, then… then there was no way his bandmates hadn’t figured it out, too. Especially Bokuto. He came across as goofy and doofy and a little dumb at times, but he was incredibly emotionally perceptive, especially with his fellow Jackals. If fans were picking up on the way Shoyo looked at Atsumu, then surely he was, too.

Meaning he was gonna have to act his ass off to seem as though he was perfectly okay with the newly formed couple.

If it was even newly formed. For all he knew, the two of them had been together for a while and had just been caught slipping thanks to an unfortunately timed selfie.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he lifted only his head to read it, chest tight with anxiety over what it would say.

‘ _ **> >>** Honestly part of the fandom meltdown, other than OMG SAKUATSU CONFIRMED, is a stupid ship war between SakuAtsus and AtsuHinas over what is the actual confirmed couple and who is really in love with who. There’s conspiracy theories over the kiss being a stunt to generate Jackal hype while you guys are in the studio or to like draw attention away from AtsuHina because it’s the real couple and they don’t want you guys exposed or something (which honestly just sounds dumb typing it out but it’s what some people genuinely think). Some folks think it’s just Atsumu-san goofing around since he always likes messing with Sakusa-san, then others argue that Atsumu-san knows all about Sakusa-san’s agoraphobia and wouldn’t push it that far. Idk. It’s a huge damn mess and it’s getting ugly._’

The glare returned, this time in anger. He’d always been of the belief that fandoms were meant to bring people together, to help find friends who love the same thing you love. It was supposed to be an exchange of excitement, sharing things you’ve made, expressing joy over that same interest. Sometimes fandoms could bring you best friends you keep for years, even after you grow out of said fandom and move on. 

But this? This was disturbing and toxic and the exact opposite of what a fandom should be. The Black Jackals were about love and support and lifting one another up, not tearing down over a slight difference of opinion. And over something as silly as believing which bandmembers were in love with which.

Shoyo felt ill for a whole different reason.

Suddenly, his chest grew even tighter as he realized… his sister was involved in all this. He knew she would never do the bullying or seek out others to argue with, but… that didn’t mean people didn’t come at her with their own crappy attitudes and toxic behaviors.

‘ _ **< <<** Are you okay? No one is going after you, right?_’

The bouncing dots appeared and Shoyo sat up, knee bouncing, teeth gnawing his bottom lip.

‘ _ **> >>** I’m fine. I’m not big enough in the fandom to get any attention (ironically lol). I just see all the drama on the periphery. I tend not to ship any of you guys anyway so I don’t get dragged into this sorta stuff._’

Well that was a relief, Shoyo thought as he let out a long exhale, tension leaving him as he did.

‘ _ **> >>** That being said…_’

Oh no.

He waited on bated breath for the next message.

‘ _ **> >>** I’m not opposed to AtsuHina becoming a reality._’

Shoyo snorted softly, corner of his lips quirking up in a sad smile. He wasn’t either, but…

His mind brought up that picture of Atsumu kissing Sakusa, his chest burning as though the image was branding itself on his soul. Yeah, didn’t seem like AtsuHina was gonna become reality any time soon.

Or ever.

‘ _ **> >>** Are you okay Nii-Chan?_’

And wasn’t that the billion yen question?

Another snort left him, this time with less humor behind it, and his eyes itched with more tears.

‘ _ **< <<** I will be. Don’t worry about me. You just focus on getting your homework done._’

‘ _ **> >>** Boo!!_’ Her response was immediate and it managed to put a temporary smile on Shoyo’s face before it disappeared once more.

He locked his phone and set it aside before falling back onto his bed. Atsumu and Sakusa. Not a couple he’d ever contemplated but then again, he’d mostly been self-focused, only ever imagining Atsumu with himself because it hurt too much to think of him with others. And maybe that was the problem. Maybe that was why this news had taken him by such surprise. For all he knew, Atsumu and Sakusa hadn’t been hiding anything, but he’d been too blinded to see it.

Then again, considering what Natsu had said about Atsumu looking at him…

He snatched his phone up from the bed, opening up his Instagram account and going for his own profile. Scrolling through, he took note of what he’d posted, seeing meals from various places, shots of crowds from every show he’d played, a reunion photo from when he’d met up with Kageyama, Tsukki, and Yamaguchi in a Karasuno meet up. There were photos of random dogs he’d stumbled upon, photos of the dance studio, recording studio, and of course, plenty selfies and photos with his fellow Jackals.

And…

Okay, yeah, he got what Natsu meant. There were definitely more shots of him with Atsumu than Bokuto or Sakusa. He wanted to write it off as just the fact that they tended to share a room when traveling, because Bokuto would almost always spend half the night on the phone with Akaashi back home and Sakusa hated rooming with anyone, but… but a lot of these shots weren’t from their hotel stays. Mainly because their managers had told them to limit those, just in case it started rumors over behind the scenes romances.

Rumors that were flying at tornado like speeds and raging out of control now, thanks to Bokuto’s latest selfie.

His heart sank again as that image once more popped into the forefront of his mind. It was only a matter of time before said manager Meian came over to lecture them about this and try to do some sort of PR wrangling. Shoyo was surprised it hadn’t happened already.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved, because finding out about this in front of everyone would’ve been disastrous and this way he had some time to collect himself and work on putting up a front, or if he was annoyed, because it meant delaying the inevitable and that he was gonna be stuck alone with his thoughts, ruminating and obsessing over this damn photo.

A knock sounded on his door, making his heart jump. His time was up. He was surely being summoned to a meeting.

“Yeah?” he called out, hating the way his voice cracked and sounded wet at the same time. He was giving it away already.

The door tentatively opened and a familiar blond head poked in, the last head he wanted to see in that moment. 

But despite that, Atsumu… Atsumu still looked good. Wavy blond hair artfully styled to the right, big brown eyes, slender nose curving to a tip, lean build hiding muscles Shoyo had peeked at way too many times to count.

It hurt to look at him, even more than it usually did. And Shoyo had to fight to keep his eyes focused on him and not look away, not give it away.

But Atsumu picked up on it anyway, worried pull to his brow and down twist to his lips. “Everythin’ alright, Sho?” he drawled, that accent curling around Shoyo’s heart and digging in. 

Because he wasn’t just beautiful, he also had that southern drawl that just… _did things_ to Shoyo’s heart. How the hell was he supposed to survive this?

Sitting up, Shoyo gave a nod, no longer trusting his voice. Which only made Atsumu frown harder, his head tilting to the side and his mouth opening to argue. Being together twenty-four/ seven over the past three years meant they all knew each other a little _too_ well and there was no way Shoyo would be able to hide anything.

Not the way Atsumu and Sakusa were apparently hiding things.

“Fine,” he lied, voice still watery. “Book I was reading was sad.”

More frowning. “Want me ta beat it up?”

An ugly wet snort left Shoyo and he smiled despite himself, despite his sadness, shaking his head. "S'okay," he assured, smile turning false, the insincere one he had to wear in public even when having a bad day. "I'll be fine."

Atsumu nodded slowly, like he didn't quite believe it, his eyes darting down to the phone beside Shoyo. "Who died?"

Confusion settled in Shoyo's brain before he remembered he'd lied about reading a book and… okay, yeah,that made sense. Shoyo was the type to cry over characters dying. So was Atsumu, he remembered, having thought it meant he was secretly a sensitive and empathetic guy, especially given the way he could pick up on Shoyo's upset. Shoyo had thought that made him special, because Atsumu never went out of his way to ask if anyone else was okay or try to cheer them up, just simply glared and grumbled that they better not let their bad mood affect the group's performance that night.

Apparently Shoyo had been wrong. Atsumu had probably just been babying him, thinking he was fragile because he was the smallest member.

His chest hurt and he hid the wince with another shake of the head at Atsumu's remark. "Nothing like that," he said, grateful it was the truth, even if the rest of it wasn't quite the same level of honesty. "The main character had been in love with this other person throughout the series, only for that person to start dating another."

Crap, he'd probably given too much away, judging by the understanding dawning in Atsumu's eyes and the way his lips quirked up in a sad smile. He fully slinked into the room, bare feet padding softly, and Shoyo hated how good and how comfy he looked in his sweatpants with the bottoms rolled halfway up his calves and his tee with the sleeves cut off to put nice biceps on display. It made him think of far too many times when they'd slipped into one another's bed in those shared hotel rooms, lonely and homesick and in need of cuddles. It made him think of falling asleep snuggled together on planes, in cars, on couches. It made him think of tight hugs and that arm casually thrown over his shoulders onstage or during photoshoots.

It made him think of just how tactile the two of them were together and how it was gonna have to stop. Shoyo couldn't cuddle up to a guy with a boyfriend. A taken man couldn't drape themselves over the person they weren't dating.

He felt cold and he wrapped his arms around his waist to suppress a shiver, curling over his knees slightly with his head hanging.

Long fingers slipped through his hair, neatly trimmed nails scratched at his scalp and this time there was no stopping the shudder that wracked him. Pleasure sparked all over his skin, making him feel tingly, and he closed his eyes as they began to sting again at the knowledge that this was gonna have to stop soon, too, that it didn't mean to Atsumu what it meant to Shoyo.

He wanted to go home, he realized with an aching fierceness. He wanted to be surrounded by his parents and sister and old friends who understood and cared for him. He wanted to get away from this beautiful man who had no idea about the pain he was unintentionally inflicting. He wanted to be done with his stupid contract so he could leave the Black Jackals and get away, despite how it was the most fun he'd ever had, despite the love he felt for his groupmates.

"I getcha," Atsumu drawled lowly and Shoyo grimaced where his head was ducked, thinking that, no, Atsumu did not get him, not at all. "Maybe this meetin'll help distract ya."

Shoyo frowned as he lifted his head. "Meeting?" They didn't have a meeting scheduled for that…

Right.

Emergency called by Meian, no doubt.

About Bokuto's posted pic and what it contained in the background.

"Yep," Atsumu replied, still scratching at Shoyo's scalp, his eyes locked onto the ginger hair. "Damage control 'cause-a Bokkun. Again." He rolled his eyes flippantly as he snorted, like he hadn’t just been outed, like he hadn’t just had his entire relationship exposed to the world from where he’d been hiding it for who knew how long.

He was far too casual for such a huge catastrophe.

Shoyo swallowed hard, wondering why he was so upset while Atsumu--whose life would be far more affected--seemed to flat out just not care. His attitude was too laid-back, especially for someone who got as easily annoyed as Atsumu. Shoyo figured he’d be down there yelling at Bokuto for his idiocy, laying into him for ruining his life and possibly his relationship. But no, here Atsumu was, without a care in the world, worrying over Shoyo.

It was stuff like that that gave Shoyo the wrong impression.

Shoyo nodded in response to what Atsumu had said, forcing a weak smile on his face that hurt his tender jaw that always seemed to ache when he was upset and cried. “Gimme a minute to wash up?” he requested, hating the crack that remained in his voice.

He was gonna need that minute for more than just scrubbing his face and blowing his nose, that was for sure.

Atsumu gave him that stupid warm smile that said he understood, that said he cared in a way he shouldn’t, and Shoyo felt it like another arrow through his heart. “Sure. Wan’a tea or somethin’?”

Shoyo nodded, knowing Atsumu would make it perfectly the way he liked it, knowing it would get Atsumu out the room and allow him a few seconds to breathe.

And again with that damnable smile before Atsumu ruffled his hair. “Alright. I’ll let the others know yer on yer way.” One last smile, a squeeze to the shoulders, and Atsumu was scuffing his way out without a care, like his world hadn’t come crashing down with one photo.

The way Shoyo’s had.

Atsumu purposely left the door open and Shoyo slipped into his private bathroom to splash water on his face, to cool down cheeks hot with upset, to try and make it seem as though… as though he really _was_ okay and his only problem was some sad book he’d just read. He should probably make up some title or something… but then again, he couldn’t risk the possibility of one of his groupmate’s looking it up to read it for themselves. Maybe he’d lie and say it was a fanfic or something. They tended to stay away from those.

No matter what, Shoyo needed to get a hold of himself, needed to get his crap together. He couldn’t look at himself in the mirror, too afraid of what he’d see, focusing instead on grabbing a nearby towel to dry his face. He scrubbed a little harder than he should’ve, hoping to blur the ruddiness on his face that came from being upset, then left the towel on the counter to deal with later.

He blew his nose into a tissue and disposed of it then decided… well, he was as ready as he could’ve been. Wasn’t like he could dawdle all day and put anything off. He had to get this conversation and this meeting over with. The sooner he got down there, the sooner it would be over and he could once again hide out in his room to wallow in his misery alone once more.

With a heavy sigh, he left the bathroom, his bedroom, and made his way down the stairs of the house the Black Jackals all lived in together. He remembered being so impressed when the record company had originally moved them in. Everything felt so big, so fancy, so overwhelming. Now it felt oppressive, claustrophobic, ensnaring.

He was trapped.

In the living room, he found most of the others. On one couch sat their manager, Meian Shugo, his dark hair messed up from obviously running his hands through it, top buttons of his shirt undone, tie missing entirely. A deep set frown was on his face, arms crossed with his sleeves rolled up, knee shaking up and down impatiently. He looked like he’d aged several years in the day or two since Shoyo had last seen him, giving the impression that this meeting was not gonna go well. Next to him was their PR agent Inunaki Shion, typing away furiously on his phone with a deeper frown on his face than usual. Shoyo mentally shuddered to think what kind of damage control he was currently working on, how many reporters and bloggers and websites and papers and TV shows had all contacted him, asking to address this latest PR fiasco.

On one of the adjacent loveseats sat a very chastened Bokuto, curled up with his knees drawn to his chest, toes curled over the edge of the chair. Next to him was a displeased Akaashi, his arms crossed, too, occasionally shooting hard looks at his boyfriend out the corner of his eye as his crossed leg swung up and down in agitation. He’d most likely already scolded Bokuto, given the sad puppy look on his face, and chances were Bokuto was in for another lecture from Meian and Inunaki then probably a third from Akaashi again.

Shoyo felt bad for him. Chances were it had been an honest mistake, Bokuto not paying attention to what he’d been posting. It was too bad the fall out was so huge.

He dug the heel of his palm in the center of his chest as the ache returned. No one else knew, but he was definitely part of the fall out, collateral damage from the bomb that had been dropped.

On the opposing loveseat was Sakusa, looking more pissed than usual, one knee pulled up, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats. His narrowed eyes glared at nothing, muscle in his jaw twitching as he ground his teeth, and Shoyo wondered if maybe Bokuto was in for yet another lecture from Sakusa regarding personal space and overstepping his boundaries.

It was gonna be a _long_ meeting.

The couch opposite Meian and Inunaki was unoccupied and Shoyo curled up on one end of it, balled up in much the same way as Bokuto. Part of him wanting to stretch his tee over his knees like he used to as a kid, to hide away like a turtle, but he thought better of it, choosing instead to gnaw on a thumbnail.

Atsumu was the last to arrive, bringing the promised tea and a box of Kleenex, setting both on the coffee table near Shoyo. The redhead gave him an appreciative smile, waiting and expecting him to join Sakusa on the loveseat now that they were out, but… but he flopped down onto the couch. Right next to Shoyo. Not on the other side, not even on the center cushion, but as close as he possibly could, throwing an arm over the back of the sofa behind Shoyo’s head.

Shoyo’s heart went rabbit fast and he had to clench his jaw to fight back any upset noises or tears or anything else that would give away the fact that he hadn’t been previously saddened by a story. It was unfair. Atsumu was totally unfair, playing with Shoyo, and he felt a small bubble of anger forming in his chest. He focused on it, let it fester and grow, figuring it was safer than the alternative.

Inunaki wrapped up whatever he’d been typing and put his phone aside for the moment before turning to Meian. Meian then heaved a sigh before leaning over his lap, elbows on his knees and heels of his palms digging into his eyes.

“I have no fucking clue where to start,” he admitted with a grumble.

“I do,” Sakusa volunteered, dark eyes cutting as he glared. “This is all your fault.”

Except… the words weren’t aimed at Bokuto, the way Shoyo expected them to be. They were aimed at Atsumu.

Atsumu, who just went wide eyed and shrugged in confused innocence. “ _My_ fault?”

“Yes, _your_ fault!” Sakusa argued, letting his foot fall onto the floor with a stomp that shouldn’t have been possible with bare feet. “If you hadn’t been fucking around like the obnoxious jackass you are, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Shoyo frowned. What the hell was going on?

He looked around at the others in the room for any sign, any hint to let him know. Meian seemed to be nodding in reluctant agreement with Sakusa. Akaashi’s eyes were still cutting to Bokuto, who was nodding with more vehemence, seemingly glad to have the blame aimed elsewhere. Inunaki was glancing at his phone screen and a notif that had apparently popped up.

No help anywhere.

“I thought Bokuto posted the picture?” Shoyo found himself stating.

This time, Akaashi was nodding while Bokuto looked at him, betrayed at being thrust into the spotlight. Sakusa was glaring at the silver-haired guy as though remembering he was partially at fault, too. Atsumu was making a confused and hurt noise in the back of his throat before breathing out a swear he tried to muffle with his free hand.

“‘Course ya saw it,” he muttered more to himself than anyone else, face contorted in an expression of pain and regret.

Which totally didn’t fit the situation at all and only served to further confuse Shoyo.

Meian let out another sigh as he sat back on the couch, arms folded again. “That’s part of the problem, obviously,” he grumbled. “Because now we have to clean up this mess and put a stop to all these bullshit rumors of the two of them dating.” He swiped his fingers back and forth between Atsumu and Sakusa.

And confused Shoyo even more. Which previously hadn’t felt possible.

His own feet fell to the floor as he sat forward. His heart was racing once more and this time, the heat in his chest was due to a futile hope that he felt idiotic for letting spark. But it couldn’t be helped, not if there was a possibility…

“‘Bullshit rumors’? So they aren’t actually dating?”

Meian stared at him like he couldn’t figure out if Shoyo was serious or not.

Inunaki was typing on his phone again.

Bokuto was looking at him with his head tilted in his own expression of confusion.

Sakusa was sneering in disgust. “Don’t make me throw up, please.”

“Yeah, Sho, don’t be gross,” Atsumu added, his own visage mirroring that of Sakusa’s.

Shoyo just kept looking around, kept glancing at each and every one of them, hoping to be clued in.

Nothing.

“Okay, now I’m even more confused,” he admitted, rubbing at his temples.

Sakusa clicked his tongue, looking annoyed. But not at Shoyo. It was aimed at Atsumu once more. “That idiot over there was fucking around and no matter how much I told him to back off, he wouldn’t. The jackass grabbed me, yanked down my mask, then kissed me. Which I smacked him for.”

Atsumu rubbed at his cheek as though feeling the slap once more. “It was just a joke.”

“It’s more than a joke now, Miya,” Meian pointed out with a hard look that had Atsumu sinking in his seat under the weight of it. “A good majority of the fandom is now up in arms over the belief that the two of you are actually an item thanks to Bokuto’s impeccable timing.”

“I was just trying to take a selfie for the fans!” Bokuto cried out, defending himself, head perking up.

“That you didn’t check before posting,” Akaashi chastised.

Bokuto’s head fell onto his knees again as he repeated it in a more subdued volume. “That I didn’t check before posting.”

Another heavy sigh from Meian as he scrubbed at his hair. “Which is another part of the problem. Because of that, both myself and Inunaki have been inundated with emails asking for confirmation and statements regarding the status of half our band, when there’s nothing there except youthful hijinks. We’re gonna disappoint certain fans, we’re gonna look like we’re trying to cover something up, we’re gonna come across as unsupportive homophobes, all kinds of shit, when previously, we were praised for having a bandmember openly be in a relationship with another man.”

Shoyo grimaced at the fact that Meian and Inunaki’s jobs had just been made a thousand times worse and he almost didn’t speak up, except…

“Uh, it’s already rumored to be a cover up,” he pointed out reluctantly, twiddling his fingers as he drew his knees up to his chest. “My sister just got done telling me that parts of the fandom are fighting over whether ‘SakuAtsu’ is real or if it’s a ploy to divert attention away from ‘AtsuHina’.”

Meian swore. Sakusa sneered and clicked his tongue in disgust again. Bokuto turned to Akaashi in confusion, his boyfriend lowly telling him what ‘SakuAtsu’ and ‘AtsuHina’ were. Shoyo couldn’t even look at Atsumu. He didn’t wanna know what his reaction would be to that.

“I thought that’s what it was,” Bokuto blurted out, Akaashi staring at him in wide-eyed shock. “That ‘Tsum-tsum was tryna shut Sakusa up about his obvious crush on Hinata by kissing him.”

“ _Bokuto-san!_ ” Akaashi cried out, slapping a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth.

Atsumu stiffened and sputtered. Sakusa sighed and rolled his eyes. Meian just looked so damn tired and over their antics. Inunaki kept typing. And Shoyo…

Shoyo couldn’t move. Was pretty sure he wasn’t breathing. Only his heart was functioning and it was operating about five times its normal rate. Because it sounded as though Bokuto had just…

No. No way.

“Are you determined to out someone by the end of the day?” Meian chastised, shooting a look at Bokuto, who shook his head despite the tight hold his boyfriend had on his mouth.

He tried to argue, words muffled, and Akaashi hissed at him to be quiet, that he’d done enough damage for the year.

Shoyo was still frozen.

“So,” Inunaki began, thumbs poised over his screen as his eyes flicked around the group. “Am I telling folks that Atsumu and _Shoyo_ are an item?”

Shoyo inhaled sharply as his stomach began doing some sort of gymnastics routine not seen outside the Olympics.

Atsumu covered his face with both hands as his head fell back against the couch. “I would love for the world to just swallow me up and slowly consume me over the next thousand years.”

And now the hope and excitement Shoyo had been feeling was gone, morphed into hurt and the anger he was feeling earlier at how blase Atsumu was acting. “Would dating me really be that bad?”

Snapping up, Atsumu turned to him with wide panicked eyes, hands swiping around as though trying to wipe away the words Shoyo had just put out into the air. “No, no, no. Not that, god, not that. No, datin’ ya would be the best thing in the world, I just didn’t want my crush exposed like that. ‘Cept now it is and I’ve admitted it and, _fuck_ , yeah, let the world consume me please.” Covering his face back up, Atsumu flopped over to the side so he was laying on his back on the couch, away from Shoyo.

Who was… who was gaping… and stunned… and… and…

Did… did Atsumu just admit to having a crush?

“You have a crush on me?”

Atsumu groaned in much the same way he did when forced to keep practicing when he was tired and cranky and not in the mood. “Yeah. No, not a crush. Pretty sure I’m in love witcha, but it’s fine, I’ll just lay here and rot.”

Everything in Shoyo felt tingly, warm, heart pounding so hard he was pretty sure it was trying to break out of his chest and go run a marathon or something. He felt positively electric, vibrating, alive, because… because he hadn’t been wrong in thinking there’d been _something_ between him and Atsumu, that the blond favored him and treated him differently, treated him like he was special. Because he did and he had and he was and…

Before he knew it, Shoyo was throwing himself atop Atsumu, making him grunt upon the collision. A huge grin was on his face, one he couldn’t contain even if he wanted to. He was too happy, too elated. It was just like when he’d been accepted into idol training, then joined Karasuno, then was invited to the Black Jackals.

No. It was better.

Atsumu was _in love with him_.

Gripping Atsumu’s wrists, he pried the blond’s hands away from his face, forcing him to see his beaming grin. Brown eyes went wide then narrowed in confusion, and Atsumu opened his mouth, barely able to get the single syllable he used to refer to Shoyo out before…

Before Shoyo was leaning down and kissing him.

And as the heavenly choir rang out in his head, Atsumu slipped his long fingers into Shoyo’s hair and kissed him back.

In the background, Shoyo registered Bokuto cheering and Sakusa’s huffy “about time” and Meian’s tired sigh and Inunaki’s confused “is that a yes?” But none of that mattered, not when Shoyo had Atsumu the way he’d wanted for so long. The way Atsumu had wanted him, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The fandom was in another uproar according to his sister’s texts. This time, over a photo Shoyo and Atsumu had both posted to their social medias. A photo that had been shared in order to cut through confusion and apologize for the false narrative started by Bokuto’s selfie and the joke kiss in the background. This time, there was no mistaking what it was, the selfie by Atsumu himself as he and Shoyo both grinned wide into a kiss of their own, the sole focus of the picture as their free hands formed a heart. It had taken some contorting and the use of a selfie stick but it was worth it when the final product was shared far and wide.

And amidst the update of the fandom chaos, Natsu also gave her own congratulations--as well as an earned “told ya so!”--that Shoyo had replied to with gratitude. Then he’d turned his phone off and put it away, snuggling up to his now boyfriend as they spent a lazy day in bed ignoring their jobs, the world, and the chaos that was sure to await them once this album was done and they were thrown to the wolves that comprised the media. Yeah, that could wait for another day. For now, everything Shoyo wanted was smiling at him like nothing else mattered to him either.


End file.
